Veritaserum
by Luxiora
Summary: On hiatus - indefinitely. May revamp. But don't get your hopes up too soon.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Notes:** _Hello, my loves! This is officially my first story to be published on this site! I would very much appreciate it if you would read it and give me your criticism, good or bad. I only want to please the crowd. And myself. But The crowd will always win..._

_As I was saying, this is my first _**published **_work on here. I have written many fanficitons before. Not completed, but they are collecting dust in my documents. _

_Veritaserum will be about a girl, seemingly invisible to the world, but also best friends with the Marauders. This story takes place during their 6th year at Hogwarts and will hopefully be an entertaining and exciting journey for me, Aurelia, and my readers. I hope each and every one of you will enjoy it, and even if you don't, I would love to hear your criticism. _

_The title is subject to change. Please be on the lookout for that, because it **is** a possibility._

_Pronounciation for Aurelia: aw-reel-ee-yah_

_Pronounciation for Aria: are-ee-ah_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Harry Potter. However, I DO own Aurelia Nightengale. She is a character from my imagination, and any similarities to real people or other characters are completely coincidental and unintentional. Thank you._

_

* * *

_

It wasn't a sunny day. No, it was certainly not warm either; but nonetheless, people were scattered across the lawn as if it were the first day of spring. Of course, anyone would be thrilled to get out after being cooped up inside for a week straight. The relentless rain hadn't failed to bring the place a dark, dank, and depressing mood, but the cheer and warmth was slowly returning with each ray of sun escaping from the clouds.

One particular group of students was especially excited to escape the walls of the castle. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were sitting in a small circle under the biggest Beech tree next to the lake, chatting animatedly about their next plot. The Marauders were notorious for their clever, well thought out schemes, which often landed them in detention. They were like brothers to each other, and you almost never saw one without the others at his side. But unbeknownst to most people, there was always another.

A girl by the name of Aurelia Nightengale had always been a part of the famous quartet, but her presence was never acknowledged as it should have been. Perhaps it was the popularity of the boys that made her seem so small, or maybe she was just as unappealing as everyone always called her, but either way, she was stuck in their shadow. Aria had the habit of befriending rather popular students, and it never failed to make her feel unimportant and bothersome; especially since she was mostly invisible to the majority of the school. Of course, it didn't help that she was little more than socially awkward, and her life prior to Hogwarts has given her reason to shy away from opening up to people.

Naturally, coming to Hogwarts changed everything for her. Aria learned to open up more, only by the knowledge that this was a brand new start for her. She didn't have to worry about her previous life which was more than enough to satisfy her. Making friends still wasn't easy, but by her 2nd year, she had more close friendships than she had ever had in her life. Her 2nd year was also the year she was taken under the wing of the infamous Marauders. After being forced into a train compartment with them on the Hogwarts Express, their friendship had grown. It was understood that Aria would never be a Marauder, but it was also understood that she was officially one of them.

At least, most of them considered her as such. Sirius had never been accepting of the idea, and never wasted a chance to tell her that she wasn't welcome. Even after 5 years of her accompaniment, he remained stubborn and refused to accept the "intruder" as part of the group. Aria didn't mind his hostility, though. She wasn't particularly fond of him either. They were always at each other's throats, bickering about the most pointless things. To say they didn't like each other would be a huge understatement. But regardless of Aria's and Sirius's fierce dislike of one another, they all continued to be her most loyal friends.

Back under the Beech tree, the five students were laughing and scheming as usual, but Aria was the only one concerning herself with the massive load of homework that they had been given. Only half aware of the commotion going on around her, she was caught completely off guard when her books soared from their place in the grass to the hands of James and Remus. Blinking in confusion, she looked at the boys who had proceeded to sit on the books to prevent her from reaching them, and sighed.

"You do realize that this work is due tomorrow, don't you?" she asked, exasperated. Their grins widened as they shook their heads.

"Aria, you need to relax. We never do our homework, but we do just fine," James told her. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but I actually care about my grades, unlike you," Aria responded.

"We don't need to care about grades. This stuff just comes natural to us," Remus replied with a smirk on his face.

"Well, some of us aren't so lucky! Honestly. I wonder why I bother with you guys sometimes," she sighed.

"Then why are you still here? Go on. We won't miss you," Sirius finally spoke up. Aria glared at the black haired boy lying in the damp grass.

"You would like that wouldn't you? Finally getting rid of the one girl who doesn't drool over your _obnoxious _behavior would be a dream come true for you, wouldn't it? Well unfortunately for you, I'm not going anywhere, Black," she replied fiercely. He sat up from his position and glared back into her abnormally blue eyes.

"Oh, yeah, I would be _thrilled_ to get an annoying git like you out of my hair. And it's not my fault I'm so charming. The girls can't help it," he smirked. Aria stood up angrily and pointed a finger in his face.

"Your arrogance is sickening. You're going to be alone for the rest of your life because no one in their right mind would ever want to live with someone as horrid as you."

Sirius stood as well, and Aria shrunk under his cold eyes, but she wouldn't let his superior height intimidate her. However, she could not hide the flush that appeared across her cheeks.

"If anyone is going to be alone, it's going to be you. You couldn't get a guy if you were the only female left in the world. I, on the other hand, have girls literally lined up for me," he said.

Aria narrowed her eyes. "Your little whores don't count. You're pathetic."

"And you're a worthless pile of shit."

James and Remus were standing now, holding the two back from a potential fight. They're attempts to diffuse the situation were failing, but it was enough to make them stalk furiously in opposite directions. James ran a hand through his hair, causing it to look messier than ever and glanced at Remus.

"That didn't go too well," he said. Remus sighed and shook his head, hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

"It never does."

Peter woke up suddenly from his nap, causing the remaining boys to turn their attention to him. He blinked his small eyes a few times before stretching and asking, "Does anybody have some food?"

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Aria sat alone in the library, finally beginning to calm down after the heated argument she had just experienced. Her books still being in the possession of James, she was forced to use the library to finish the work she had not yet started. She shifted in her seat, and pushed the lengthy Potions essay away. Leaning her head back, she sighed and closed her eyes, trying to relax and ignore the anger still burning inside her. Unconsciously, she began to hum a tune her mother used to sing to her before she had died. Before she knew it, she had fallen into an almost sleeping state. That is, until someone dropped a thick book onto the table, causing her to jump from the loud noise. She looked up into the gray eyes of the last person she wanted to see. Sirius Black was standing there, grinning like the idiot that he was.

"What are **you** doing here?" she asked, scowling as she picked up the books and began placing them back on the shelves behind her.

"Well, I don't know. What else would I be doing_ in a library_?" he retorted. She shoved a book onto the shelf making it bang loudly against the wood.

"Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you?" she said hotly. "You think you're sooo amazing. Get over yourself."

He acted as if he was thinking hard about something. "Well, that's strange coming from the girl who thinks she's something special. I can't believe that you haven't realized yet that no one even knows your name."

Voices rising in volume with every insult, they were soon close to shouting at each other. The few people situated in the library were all staring at the source of the noise now, secretly wishing that someone would pull out a wand and duel it out. Aria had come particularly close to resorting to magic, but decided against it, knowing that if she did she would be giving him the satisfaction of winning.

As the fight continued, a professor strode into the room clearly quite angry about the commotion the two were causing. They didn't realize who was standing just beside of them until Sirius made a gesture with his arms and accidently hit her. At once, they stopped fighting, avoiding the steely gaze of Professor McGonagall.

"What is going on here? I could hear your shouting all the way from my office! Now tell me, what gives you two the right to disturb the library while everyone else is trying to study?" she asked. They both began speaking at once, trying to put the blame on the other. McGonagall closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples, obviously stressed out by one thing or another. "I don't know why I even bothered to ask. You two are always having shouting matches with each other. Maybe detention will help you learn to settle your differences?" she demanded more than asked. Aria and Sirius glared at each other for a moment before nodding their heads reluctantly.

McGonagall retreated back to her office, and as soon as she was out of sight, the two began whispering furiously at each other.

"I can't believe you! If you hadn't waltzed in here like you did, we wouldn't have got detention!" Aria spat at him. He glared at her back as she returned to putting books on the shelf.

"Can't believe **me**? You're the one that started talking. All I did was put my book down, and suddenly I'm being verbally abused by a girl with no self confidence! Honestly! How do you expect to insult someone else when your self esteem is that low?" he replied. She froze and turned to look at him.

"You know, I may not have the best self confidence, but at least I'm not a pathetic jerk who gets off on making other people's lives miserable," she whispered calmly. She walked quickly out of the library, her robes flowing behind, and her auburn hair swaying with every step she took. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and thought about what she had said for a moment before coming to the conclusion that girls are completely and irrevocably mental.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Once out of the library, Aria rushed up to the common room where she found James and Remus chatting by the fire. They stopped talking when they noticed her standing behind them, but the looks of confusion on their faces made her finally speak up.

"What?" she asked and Remus raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're crying. That's what. Did something happen?" he replied. Aria raised a hand to her cheek and felt that her face was indeed wet with fresh tears. She hadn't even noticed she had started crying. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve and averted her eyes to the fire, avoiding their gaze.

"I came to ask you if you still had my books," she said, trying to change the subject. But the two boys knew her too well. If this girl was crying, then obviously something was wrong.

"Yeah, we have them, but that still doesn't answer our question," said James. She glanced up and met his eyes before turning them quickly back to the fire.

"Great. Can I have them? I really need to get busy on all this work," she tried again. They weren't going to give up that easily.

"Not until you tell us why you're crying," Remus said. She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself before looking at him. His eyes bore into hers, and she shrunk under his gaze.

"I just got something in my eye earlier, and I couldn't get it out," she said as convincingly as she could. She knew the excuse was as lame as it could get, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment. Remus rolled his eyes, and stood up. James followed him. Aria stood almost 8 inches shorter than their towering figures, and intimidated, she backed up preparing to leave as soon as she got a chance, but they each wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her over to the couch. She squirmed uncomfortable between them, knowing they wouldn't release her until she gave them a believable reason for the tears.

"So you want to tell us the REAL reason, or are we going to have to bring out the Veritaserum we nicked from Slughorn?" pressed James. She let out a sigh and racks her brain for a good lie. How embarrassing would it be to tell them that their best friend had caused her to _cry_?

"Why does it even matter? I'm a big girl. I can handle these things on my own," she stalls. They snorted at the question.

"Oh, please! It_ matters_ because the only time we've ever seen you cry is when your cat died. You're not easily upset. Which MEANS that whatever or whoever did this has achieved an almost impossible feat. It's a big deal." James pulls her back down as she tries to stand up. She scowls at the both of them.

"This is ridiculous. _You're _ridiculous. Sirius Black is ridiculous!" Aria's eyes widened at what she had just let slip, but any hope that they would let it go was crushed when they both raised their eyebrows in surprise.

"Ah, so it has something to do with ol' Padfoot, eh? I see, I see. And would this happen to be related to something he might have said?" said Remus.

"Perhaps something that he's failed to mention before?"

"Or maybe even something that would hurt you enough to make you cry?"

Aria avoided their gazes, confused and slightly irritated at the situation. What _had_ he said? She tries to remember what it was that had caused her to storm out of there as soon as she could. Suddenly, it all came back to her, and she furrowed her eyebrows at the memory. Sure, it hurt, but it wasn't like she was the pathetic little girl she used to be. She wasn't the same girl who was so fragile and weak. Aria could stand up for herself. The words play back in her mind once more.

"_Can't believe __**me**__? You're the one that started talking. All I did was put my book down, and suddenly I'm being verbally abused by a girl with no self confidence! Honestly! How do you expect to insult someone else when your self esteem is that low?"_

It's strange. Nothing Sirius had said before had ever affected her this way, made her cry, made her relive the memories that she had tried so hard to repress. She gives them a weak smile and opens her mouth to speak.

"It's not important, really. It only made me remember the past. I got through them once, I can do it again," she said softly. The two boys on either side of her exchanged looks of disbelief when the door to the common room burst open and Sirius stormed inside. His eyes immediately landed on Aria and he opened his mouth to speak when Peter suddenly flew into site, tripped on the carpet, and landed very ungracefully on his face.

"Oowwouchh!" came the muffled voice. James and Remus were laughing uncontrollably at his misfortune while Aria and Sirius continued to glare at one another. Aria's expression, however, was much softer than the sharp features of her enemy. She did not glare, didn't even show emotion, just continued to stare in mild surprise and apparent apathy. But on the inside, her mind and heart were at war.

His scowl deepened for a fraction of a second before he turned away and stormed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. She watched his back retreat and slumped into the couch- which now was only occupied by her- even further. The scene before her did nothing to brighten her mood, and before the others had realized it, she had retrieved her textbooks and fled to her dorm.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

The next day, Aria avoided contact with the boys as much as she could manage. It wasn't until just after dinner when Remus and James linked arms with her from behind and steered her back towards the Great Hall with her feet barely dragging against the stone floor.

"Noo, let me go!" she struggled in vain. The duo tightened their grip on her and continued pulling the now limp girl to the Gryffindor table. They plopped her down on the bench and sat on either side of her like a sandwich. She let her head fall forward onto the table with a loud _smack!_ and groaned.

"Yuh tooh ruh gun ah ged et," was her muffled words. Remus grabbed the back of her robes and pulled her back into a slouched sitting position.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he snickered. Aria glared at the back of a small Slytherin boy's dark head.

"I said, you two are gonna get it," she growled. James pouted and started playing with a stand of her hair.

"Aww, you don't mean that, love. We were only trying to help!" he said innocently.

"You hurt our feelings, Aurelia. Don't you think you're being a little cruel to your bestest friends in the whole wide world?" Remus teased. Aria sighed and tried to bang her head against the wooden table once more, but was stopped by the relentless hands on the back of her robes.

"Seriously. What do you want? I have to get back to sulking before my routine gets out of wack," she said as she stood up and began walking away. As they followed, James raised an eyebrow while Remus looked at her with concern written on his face.

"Ah, and that, my friend, is precisely why we're here," James replied. "You never sulk! You never let anything bother you! This whole situation is insane."

"What's insane is you two. I'm fine! I just need time to think without the both of you breathing down my neck," she huffed as she stopped before the staircase. "Now, I should really be getting to McGonagall's office, or I'll end up with even more detention."

"Detention? You didn't tell us you got detention? When did this happen?" Remus looked shocked.

"I'm so proud of you! Our little girl is finally growing up!" James faked a look of tearful joy. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, stop it. It's all Black's fault. He showed up in the library last night while I was studying and caused a scene. It's as simple as that," she spat out Sirius's name.

"Detention with Padfoot? Oh man, that's going to be a sight to see. McGonagall doesn't know what she's in for," James laughed.

"Don't… This is going to be torture. I can't stand him, and after last night…"

The boys looked at her in sympathy. Whatever Sirius had said or did to her must have struck her pretty hard. There wasn't much that could shake a girl like Aria so badly. James smiled slightly and ruffled the girl's hair. "You'll be okay. Sirius is just hotheaded. He doesn't mean what he says."

Aria looked up and him and nodded once. "Alright. I'll try to get over it." Remus put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to him. He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Someone needs a hug," he spread his arms out for her. Her smile widened into a toothy grin and she walked into his open arms. He wrapped them firmly around her and she closed her eyes in satisfaction. It had been a while since she had had a_ real_ hug. A hug that meant something. She opened her eyes and left his arms to hug James as well. He looked surprised for a moment before smiling and returning the sign of affection.

Aria sighed and removed herself from the embrace. Significantly happier than she had been all day, she gratefully thanked them for being there for her. "I love you guys," she said before turning and jogging up the steps to face the much dreaded evening with a one Sirius Black.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed! More chapters will be up in the future, but I can't say how soon. I am currently busy with other projects, but I do plan on continuing Veritaserum._

_Please leave comments. All criticism is appreciated and I will be sure to get the next chapter up as soon as I can! Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** _After looking over the first chapter, I've decided that I pretty much hate it. I think it feels rushed and lacks details. I apologize. I will definitely try to do better in this chapter and the chapters to come. Please have faith in me! Thank you._

_Pronunciation for Aurelia: aw-reel-ee-yah_

_Pronunciation for Aria: are-ee-ah_

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Harry Potter. However, I DO own Aurelia Nightengale. She is a character from my imagination, and any similarities to real people or other characters are completely coincidental and unintentional. Thank you._

* * *

Aurelia Nightengale glided through the corridors of Hogwarts, completely ignoring the pointless jibber-jabber of the portraits on the walls and the pathetic gossip of giggling first year girls. She hummed a cheerful tune along the way, trying to keep her spirits high in the knowledge of having to serve detention with a one Sirius Black. The attempt was working so far, but as she got closer and closer to McGonagall's classroom, she wished she could simply turn around and run straight back to the Great Hall.

She cursed under her breath and stopped. Turning, she banged her head against the wall in a futile attempt to knock herself out, or perhaps wake her up from this nightmare. Groaning, she leaned backwards and realized what an idiotic idea that had been. She rubbed her forehead, the headache already beginning to set in. What a stupid idea. Not only did she have to spend the night with Black, but now she had to do it with a pounding headache.

Running a frustrated hand through her hair, she trudged onwards, trying to clear her thoughts again. She began to list potions ingredients under her breath, reviewing the laws of transfiguration, and muttering the incantations of more complicated spells. The task was less than entertaining, but it allowed her to relax a bit before she reached her dreaded destination. Aria arrived at McGonagall's room sooner than she had expected, but walked inside as she knocked on the open door. The transfiguration professor looked up from her work and gave her a look which suggested that this would not be a particularly enjoyable night. Not that it would have been enjoyable in the first place.

"Ah, Miss Nightengale. As soon as your company arrives, I'll let you know what you'll be doing tonight in detention. Please, take a seat," she said to her. Aria plunked down into the nearest seat and let her head fall to the desk with a bang. With the pain, she suddenly thought, _I have to stop doing that. I'm going to end up with serious brain damage…_

She didn't move, but turned her head to the side, giving her a half full view of the doorway. As soon as Sirius walked in, she would know to begin the monotonous list of potions ingredients yet again. She waited and waited for what seemed like hours, but was in reality only a few minutes. Sighing, she sat up and rested her chin in her hand, trying to ignore the pounding of her head. The faint scribbling of writing on parchment paper made her eyes heavy, and soon she was beginning to drift off into slumber. But before she could fall asleep, a loud knock on the door woke her. She inwardly groaned and watched as he walked into the room, a very bored expression on his face and in his step. _And the torture begins._

"Mr. Black, I'm glad to see you've made it. Please, take a seat," McGonagall said. Sirius lazily fell into the seat left of Aria, and she wrinkled her nose in mild annoyance. "Tonight, the two of you will be in the dungeons, cleaning the potions classroom. Some first years thought it would be clever to mess around with the ingredients. The results were not pretty. You'll see when you get there. You may go now."

The two stood up to leave, but were interrupted by the professor. "Oh, and no magic will be permitted. Hand over your wands."

"How are we supposed to clean it up, then?" Aria asked in surprise.

"The muggle way. Cleaning supplies will be provided. Maybe this will teach you a little lesson," she met each of their eyes. They groaned and muttered a "Yes, professor" before placing their wands on her desk and leaving the room.

They walked in silence, Aria leading the way. Her mind wandered to thoughts of the next Hogsmeade trip. Of course, the others would probably want to pull some extravagant prank on Snape. Or some other innocent victims which would probably involve illegal items and the use of a certain invisibility cloak. And as usual, Aria would tag along, acting as if she disapproved when really, she thought their escapades were entertaining, though sometimes cruel.

She was broken out of her thoughts by Sirius's voice behind her.

"Hey, genius, the class is back here," he called. She turned around and scowled.

"I knew that…" she mumbled.

"Sure, ya did," he called back and walked into the room. She rolled her eyes and followed him. She turned into the doorway and walked straight into something hard. Sirius hadn't moved but two feet into the room. She expected him to snap at her, and she was surprised when he didn't. She raised an eyebrow and peered around his body to see the room. Her jaw dropped. She grabbed Sirius's sleeve to keep from falling, and he did not object.

"Bloody…" she began.

"Hell…" he finished. The room was covered in a disgusting, puke green substance. It bubbled and burped, it filled the air with the stench of decaying flesh. It seemed to grow as it foamed, attaching itself to the walls and floor. How utterly disgusting. And impossible.

They stood there, staring in disbelief, for a few more minutes before Sirius realized she was still clinging onto his sleeve and shook her off. He reached out to grab an enchanted mop and towel floating in the air and tossed the remaining supplies to Aria.

"We'd better start cleaning if we want to get done before next week," he joked dryly. She scoffed and put her mop straight into the goop. It hissed and gurgled, completely enveloping the mop. She held her nose as the stench grew worse, but continued to move the cleaning utensil around, hoping it would start soaking up the mess. It seemed reluctant to disappear. But eventually, they created a path from the door to the opposite wall. The rest of the room, however, was still blanketed by the offensive substance.

By now, they had grown accustomed to the smell, but not so accustomed to the company of each other. Every few minutes, they would shoot nasty looks at the other, or mutter something rude under their breaths. The constant knowledge of who they were stuck in a room with did nothing to help pass the time. And several hours later, they were still only half way through the cleaning.

Aria sighed aloud and allowed her thoughts to travel. They traveled to the object of her dislike, and the only other person who occupied this room. Sirius Black.

The pompous, arrogant, obnoxious jerk that lived only to torture poor Aurelia Nightengale. He made her life miserable, for no other reason than his own entertainment. Who did he think he was anyway? _The most appealing male on the face of the earth._ She scoffed. Who in their right mind would fall for him? He's a noodle. But his fan club isn't entirely delusional. Just mostly. _He isn't completely bad looking, I suppose. He's actually kind of cute. Sexy, almost._ She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. She couldn't believe she had just called him **sexy**. _But it's true..._

She glanced up to look at him and caught him smirking evilly at her. She raised an eyebrow as he made his way over. She stepped backwards cautiously.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He stopped in front of her and placed his hands behind her on the desk she was leaning on, trapping her. And he leaned in close to her face. She glared at him.

"So, you think I'm _sexy_, eh? I never would have known," his smirk grew. Aria's face flushed scarlet as she realized that she had indeed been thinking out loud. How could she have been so careless?

"I… That… You're… No! That was a mistake! I-" she stammered before he cut her off.

"Oh, Aurelia Luciana Nightengale. You know, it's not nice to lie," he teased. "I think it's only fair that I know the truth. Right?"

If it was possible, Aria's face would have turned even redder. She shrunk under his gaze, his tall figure looming over her. His face was inches from hers. She tried to push him back, but he wouldn't budge. "You want to know the truth? You're the same pathetic scumbag you've always been," she hissed quietly, scowling.

"Aw, you know that's not true. Come on, now. Don't be that way, _love_. You know you just can't resist me," he leaned in closer, their noses less than a centimeter apart. Aria tried to lean backwards, but he kept coming closer.

"S-stop! W-why don't we j-just go back to c-cleaning?" she asked nervously, unable to formulate any other words. He snickered.

"But why would we do that? We're having so much fun right now, aren't we?"

"Y-you're mad!" his lips were mere centimeters from her own, and she could feel his hot breath on her mouth. His gleaming, grey eyes teased her as they bore into her dark blue ones.

"Mad? No. Just… a little crazy," he whispered.

"Same thing!"

"No, not really."

"Yes, really!"

"Why does it matter, anyway? It still leaves us in this incredibly _friendly_ situation," he raised his eyebrows and moved as if he were about to kiss her. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block it out. And she waited. And waited. And the contact did not come. She opened one eye cautiously, only to see the now dingy, grey wall of the classroom. She looked around in confusion and finally set her eyes on the dark haired boy leaning on his mop, watching her with amusement. The smirk was still present on his face.

"Humph… Jerk," Aria murmured before turning her back to him and continuing the monotonous process of cleaning and keeping her mind occupied with numbers. Sirius laughed.

"Whatever you say, _love_."

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

By eleven o'clock, they had finished and were dragging their feet back to McGonagall's classroom to retrieve their wands. As usual, they were bickering, Sirius teasing her about the little incident that had occurred only 2 hours before. Aria kept switching from ignoring him to trying to defend her case. Neither proved to be effective against his constant badgering.

Of course, as they arrived at their destination, they ran into the professor who gave them an accusatory glare. Immediately, they were silenced.

"I trust that you learned your lesson?" she questioned fiercely. "It sure looks like you two enjoyed yourselves swimming around in that mess…" she muttered more to herself.

The two were covered from head to foot in the putrid, green gak. Soon after the little incident between them, they had gotten into a slime fight. But they chose to ignore the comment to save themselves the trouble of another lecture and instead only replied with a "Yes, professor."

"Good. Now, if it ever happens again, you can expect a more severe punishment. Understand?" she scolded. They nodded as she handed them their wands. "Now, goodnight."

"Goodnight, professor," they repeated. They turned around and began on their way to the Gryffindor common room. As soon as they heard the door shut behind them, they broke out into harsh whispers yet again.

"This is blackmail!" Aria hissed.

"This is success," he smiled, victoriously.

"Ohh, trust me, when I get some dirt on you, it's on."

"And that's where your mistake lies. There are no secrets about me. I am an open book, and therefore, completely dirt free."

Aria huffed and sped up in an attempt to leave Sirius behind, but her short legs were no match for his long ones. "You know you can't avoid me."

"Maybe. But I can ignore you," she replied.

"You could. But we both know that wouldn't be in your best interest," he said. Aria sighed and stopped, closing her eyes to calm herself. She really didn't see any way out of this dilemma. He had her trapped, and unless she found a way to blackmail him in return, she had no way to escape.

"What do you want?" she asked, frustrated. He appeared to be thinking intently about the question. After a moment of "considering" how he would answer, he met her eyes.

"You'll get the privilege of doing whatever I ask you to do."

Aria stared at him, almost dumbfounded.

"That's it? That's what you want me to do so you'll keep your mouth shut?"

"That would be correct, _love_," he replied.

"Well, I can't imagine what could be so bad about that… Then again, it's you we're talking about here… Fine," she said. He smirked as he began walking again, hands in pockets.

"This should be fun," he said to himself. The comment never reached the girl's ears.

Soon enough, they reached the common room and climbed inside the portrait hole. The room was empty save for a few moronic first years, some studious fifth years and the rest of the Marauders. The three boys looked up from their game of wizard's chess and their eyes widened. James started laughing.

"What happened to you guys? You look like a troll puked all over you!" he laughed. Remus smiled and chuckled.

"Seriously! What did McGonagall do to you? You look absolutely ridiculous!" he snickered. Peter just sat and smiled.

"Well, apparently some idiot first years started messing with ingredients and created The Blob," Aria deadpanned. The three first year boys in the corner stuffing their faces with candy suddenly looked up in shock. She caught their scared expressions and made to chase after them, but Remus grabbed her wrist and held her back. Before she could get loose, they were already stumbling up the stairs to the boy's dorms.

"When I see them again, they'd better be expecting a hex or two coming their way," she growled. Remus laughed and pulled out his wand to clean her up.

"Don't get too carried away now," he said. Aria scoffed and stretched, glad to be rid of the foul substance.

"I wouldn't try to hurt them or anything… Just humiliate them," she replied and sat on the arm of Remus's chair. One of his chess pieces broke one of James's into a million pieces. "I don't see what's so entertaining about this. It's pretty pointless if you ask me."

"And no one asked you," Sirius spoke up. Aria ignored him and continued to watch to game. Remus was winning, as usual, but James wasn't losing by much. She was starting to get into the game when she felt an unfamiliar pressure on her shoulder. She looked up to see Sirius's elbow resting there.

"I don't think so," she disapproved and tried to shake him off. He didn't budge, but leaned in closer to her ear.

"You haven't forgotten the little discussion we had earlier have you?" he winked. Her fist clinched and she resisted the urge to hit him.

"No, I haven't forgotten," she spoke through clenched teeth. Peter noticed their position from his spot on the floor.

"What's going on with you two?" he asked. James and Remus looked up from their match to see what was going on.

"Whoa. This is an oddity," James said.

"Definitely. What happened to you tonight? Are you sick?" Remus asked, feeling Aria's forehead in amusement. Her eye twitched as she answered.

"Of course nothing happened. What would make you think that?"

"Well, for starters, Padfoot's arm hasn't been ripped off yet. That's usually a pretty good indication that something weird is going on," James said. Sirius laughed and moved his arm so that it was wrapped lazily around her shoulders.

"Aria here just finally realized that I'm right. Isn't that right?" he said as he looked at her. She forced a smile.

"Absolutely. Padfoot is right. And I've been wrong all these years," she replied. "That's exactly what happened. Right? Or I could be wrong. You should tell me, because you know. You know everything."

James, Remus, and Peter stared at her with shock written all over their faces. Was she serious? Whatever had happened that night must have been way out of the ordinary. She hung her head and shook it, muttering quietly, "Don't question it…"

The dark haired James rolled his eyes and yawned, turning back to the board. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment before looking up at Remus accusingly. "Mooney, you little… There's no way you got checkmate! You were busy staring at this… this scene!" He gestured at the two. Aria narrowed her eyes for a second before shrugging and nodding her head in agreement. It was true, after all.

"Ah, but you forget one thing, Prongs," he leaned back in his chair. "You're playing the King here. I am a born chess protégé."

James threw a pillow at his face and laughed. "You're so arrogant. One of these days, you will be defeated! You can bet on that!"

"Prongs, you're one of the worst chess players I've ever seen. If anyone's arrogant, it's you," Sirius snickered.

"Oh, and I'd like to see the great Padfoot beat him. I would enjoy seeing you lose anyway. Come on! Or are you a scaredy cat? Hmm?" James challenged. Sirius considered the proposal for a moment.

"I'll have to get back to you on that one. I think I sprained my chess skills," he remarked.

"You should be more concerned about spraining your pride," Aria said. He thumped her on the back of the head, and she tugged on a strand of his long, wavy hair.

"You guys are all pathetic, I swear" Peter spoke up. Everyone looked at him.

"Wormtail thinks he's even less pathetic than we are. I think we need to show him what pathetic really is," Sirius smirked evilly. James's eyes glinted in the firelight.

"I think that's a brilliant idea, Padfoot."

The two set to work, first trapping poor Peter so he couldn't get away while they were scheming. Free of Sirius's hold on her, Aria finally relaxed and looked down at the smiling Remus. "What, you're not going to help them?" she asked. He met her eyes and shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. Torturing innocent victims isn't my thing. But I'm not going to try and stop them. I know they'd do it anyway," he replied. Aria sighed and started playing with his silky, light brown hair.

"I never did understand why they find it so amusing to do this to people. By the way, your hair is very soft," she muttered distractedly. He laughed.

"Well, I do take pride in my wonderfully soft hair," he said in an almost conceited way. But Aria knew he was far from it. Remus was a very humble guy. Of course, that was probably a result from his condition.

Their serious conversation changed to one of joking and laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw the couple, talking excitedly and leaning against each other as their laughter grew to be almost too much. He saw their happy faces, Aria's toothy smile as she made another joke, and Remus's eyes closed as his chest shook violently with the howling. A twinge of anger went through him, and he quickly turned his head to continue his work on the plump boy. James hadn't even noticed the change in Sirius's attitude, but gears were definitely turning inside his head.

* * *

_Thank you for reading! I believe this chapter is slightly shorter than the first, but I sure hope it's much better. Halfway through writing this chapter, I couldn't remember if I'd mentioned what color her hair was. So, in case you were wondering, her hair is indeed long, wavy, and a dark auburn brown color._

_Please leave comments, favorite, whatever. I would love comments though, so I can know what you like, and what I need to work on to make your reading more enjoyable. I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Thanks again for reading! _


End file.
